Hudson to roll out Sunglass Hut in-store shops
Hudson is partnering with an eyewear giant.
The travel retailer, which has more than 1,000 stores in airports, commuter hubs, landmarks and tourist destinations across North America, is partnering with Luxottica Group to open Sunglass Hut shop-in-shops. After a successful pilot at Richmond International Airport earlier this year, Hudson plans to open nine Sunglass Hut shop-in-shops by August, with a phased approached continuing into 2022.
In total, Hudson plans to open 250 Sunglass Hut shop-in-shops within its Hudson and localized convenience concepts across North America.
The size of the shop-in-shops will vary by location, and will feature collections from Sunglass Hut’s proprietary eyewear brands, Ray-Ban and Oakley. Hudson said its employees will leverage Luxottica and Sunglass Hut’s proprietary digital training solution to undergo extensive knowledge training on the sunglass collections, which includes material construction, sales techniques, sunglass fashion, and brand DNA.
The Sunglass Hut shops will be powered by Luxottica’s business system (called “Stars”) which is designed to manage store product assortment. The model ensures the right products are offered to customers while monitoring and replenishing low inventory regularly.
“We’ve always known that eyewear and travel are intrinsically linked, making them an essential part of our core market offerings,” said Brian Quinn, executive VP and COO of Hudson. “Through our partnership with Luxottica and Sunglass Hut, we’re creating an eyewear shopping destination with top brands for our customers inside our travel convenience concepts.”
The eyewear category has always been a core part of Hudson’s specialty fashion offerings. As part of its brand portfolio, Hudson currently operates 5th & Sunset, its proprietary sunglass and accessory stores, and freestanding Sunglass Hut stores in certain airports.